Born for This
by 10wolves
Summary: "Ivan do you think I'll be as good as a guide as you?" Feli asked. "Of course. After all, we were born for this."


Ok so this story is actually one of my own journeys I've been on. Though there have been some changes here and there and other things that happened in some of my other journeys thrown in here. So yeah... Russia is basically me in this story. Have fun reading this, da~

* * *

The bright sun beamed the silent desert with its heat as it slowly rose. As the day slowly came, a mysterious star shot through the sky. However, this star was not just falling, it seemed to be traveling some where. To a destination? Or maybe a beginning? Was it even a star? As the light landed, an odd, black-faced creature formed. It seemed to be meditating as it just sat there. It wore white robes that had a multitude of designs across the robe, nearly reaching the top. Also, the hood the creature wore seemed to poke up, as if there were ears of some kind hidden underneath. Suddenly, the creature stood, opened its odd violet eyes and started towards the top of a sand dune. Oddly enough, it had pointed white feet. As it reached the top, it looked towards its destination: a mountain with a bright light shining through the top. The silent creature nodding its head, knowing it would be there soon, like it had been there many times before...

Gracefully, the creature slide down the dune and walked past many tomb stones of other fallen creatures. The white robe creature looked sadly at the stones for a seconded before continuing onwards. He reached what seem to be some piece of buried ruins with an odd glowing symbol floating above it and even odder fish-like cloth creatures swimming through the air. The creature walked up to the symbol and watched as it seemed to flow to its hood and form a short, white, designed scarf. Seeing this, the creature did a gleeful chirp and jumped into the air as all the symbols on it glowed as it floated. Soon, the cloth fish swam towards the creature, pushing it even higher into the sky, and it took off flying. Unfortunately, it was only a short trip as he landed on the ground. However, it quickly took to the air again. It seemed the scarf was rechargeable and would gain his energy back when ever he touched the ground. So it traveled, taking energy from other cloth fish and collecting the other few symbols lying around, lengthening its scarf. The creature was quite quick with its tasks as it released a large school of cloth fish, flew over the ancestral stone and saw the beginning of its ancestors' life and foreshadowed end. It quickly stood and rushed through the opened doors. As it ran, the creature saw another figure at the end of the hall. Becoming excited, it flew the rest of the way.

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White Robe POV

I looked around the buried land of the past and couldn't help but voice a sad yet happy chirp. Sad for the loss of a great civilization, but happy for another journey. Maybe I'll meet some nice red robes! Then I can guide them~ But they always seem to avoid me... Is it because of my white robe? I always try to be kind... Ah anyway~ It's time to find some nice journeyers~ As I jumped around, searching for symbols and happily chirping for a friend come and join me, I caught sight of a young red robe. He had only a small amount of design on his robe and an odd curl coming from his head. He saw me too and we chirped about happily, circling each other and flying in joy. After we calmed down a bit we introduced ourselves.

"Privyet~ I am Ivan~! You?" I introduced myself.

"Ve~ I'm Feliciano~ I am a bit new to this journey thing. Ah, I hope I do not hold you back... Ve! O-oh on second thought, I s-should just leave... I'll get in your way..." Felinciano chirped away rapidly and quickly tried to run away.

I frown at this and stepped in front of the red robe, "Nyet! Nyet! Do not leave! I am a guide. it is my job to help the young on their journey. Do not be fearful, comrade, I shall stick by your side till the end~"

Feli chirped happily, "Really? Ve~ You are so kind~ I'll be sure to stick by your side~!"

I eye smiled, considering we didn't have mouths, and happily guided the young Feli to all the symbols and glyphs he missed in the area. He felt very thankful to me for showing him what he missed. Ah~ I felt so proud~ Finally, someone to journey with other than other white robes. Going with people who knew the ropes already was no fun~! Now I have a new friend! Hmm... what was I doing again? Ah, we were building the bridge! I lit the last ribbon and watched the cloth fish swim away and form the bridge. I turned towards Feliciano as we jumped onto the bridge. He chirped happily as we glowed and floated across the bridge. We soon saw our Second Confluence. As we stood, I looked to Feliciano and saw the saddened look on his face.

"What is wrong, comrade Feli?"

Feli jumped at hearing his name and quickly pushed away the sad look and chirped happily, "Ve~ Nothing is wrong~! See!" Feliciano then started to run around the ancient stone, chirping merrily. I just stared at him as he ran about, not sure what to do. I may be a patient guide, but I still wanted to move forward. So, I started to chase him, chirping at him to stop and follow me. Finally, Feliciano stopped and followed me through the opened path. We chirped excitedly, ready for the next part of our travel.

The Open Desert. Truly the biggest pain to navigate in this journey. I get lost every time I come here. I looked to Feli and he seemed to be waiting for me to guide him through the pink sand. I sigh and get ready for all the miss turns and confusion the sands will cause. I started my guiding and we somehow found every symbol and glyph that was hidden among the sand. I was so tired. The heated sun combined with the never-ending traveling and miss turns, I was about ready to sit and meditate for a while. I saw Feliciano was about ready for a break too, but suddenly the cloth dolphins we had released from those wicked contraptions, circled around us and gave us the energy to fly to the large buried tower in the distance. I could feel the fear in Feliciano go up a bit and I sent reassuring chirps his way.

"No need to worry dear friend~ This is not even the scary part~!"

"V-ve! Not the s-scary part?! There's a scary part?!"

"Do not worry~ I shall protect you from all harm, da~"

"O-ok..."

I eye smile and jump up the tower with the help of our dolphin friends. I paused for a second as I stared at the robotic machines crashing within the tower. I narrowed my eyes as I stared at the threatening machines.

"Such horrid monstrosities..." I chirp quietly and slowly started to climb the tower again.

"M-Mr. Ivan What are those things?"

"... They are the beginning of terrible things that brought about the end of our civilization. They are to be avoided at all cost. You shall learn."

We silently climbed up the rest of the way. I quickly grabbed the symbol atop the tower and quickly go to summon our ancestor. I was highly upset with talking about those horrible machines. After countless times of seeing what they do to our kind, I can barely stand to look at them without some amount of loath and fear. Those beasts could easily snatch our life away. As we stood up and I once again watched Feliciano jump around happily, I vowed to protect the young red robe from those beasts. I would not lose another partner... Not like that... Not again...

I chirped at Feli and we quickly jumped onto the cloth dolphins. They took us into the air and my happiness soon returned. One of my favorite parts of the journey: sand surfing~ Ah, I hope Feli can keep up with me, don't want to lose him along the way~

As the cloth dolphins dropped us off, the thrilling surf began. I looked behind myself and saw that Feli was sliding all over the place and chirping like a happy idiot. I shook my head and chirped rapidly, telling him to stay close to me. The beauty and joy of surfing through the gorgeous sand was distracting and wonderful. The cloth dolphins jumped through the sands as if they were swimming through a never-ending ocean. I felt so relaxed. After we grabbed the symbol we needed, my chirps turned from ones of attention grabbers to ones of excitement. I flew into the air and twirled through the air. I felt so young, like I have not done this multiple times already. I floated down to where Feli was sliding and landed next to him. Soon, we shot out of the speeding sand and I gracefully landed on a symbol. I watched Feliciano struggle a bit to get to where I was standing. I chuckled a bit when he finally got on top of the structure. He pouted and I giggled more.

"So adorable~ Hurry now, we must meet with our clothed friends beyond that wall." I jumped off the structure and flew around, releasing multiple cloth fish as he went. I saw Feli do a little frustrated dance and laughed at his embarrassment. We quickly released the rest of the fish as they clustered together in the center of the ruins. I rose into the air, with the help of my fish-like friends, and scaled the wall. Feli landed next to me and we looked over the edge.

"Ve, is it safe to jump from so high?"

I gave him a questioning chirp, "We have jumped from many high places, young one. Why are you so fearful now?"

"I don't know. I-I just have a bad feeling..."

"Do not worry~ Like I said: I will be here for you~" I quickly jump off and Feli soon joins me as we slide through the sands once more. Again, I guided him and he followed me like a loyal pup. As we surfed the sand, the sun seemed to make everything into a beautiful golden orange. So calm. Feli was flipping through the air as he jumped from rocks. Hearing his happy chirps may have broken the calm, but it was a wonderful sound I could not ignore. I joined him in his fun, zig-zagging through the sand as we went down a steep slope. Soon, we were shot into the air and started to descend. All the bright colors soon faded and dark blues took its place. I landed gracefully on the sandy ground with Feli soon joining me, however, in not such a graceful manner as I. He face planted into the ground and flailed around for a bit until he stood up. I laughed at his silly ways and flew to the stone of our ancestors. Feli soon joined me, still looking flustered. After seeing the cause of our ancestors down fall, Feliciano turned to me.

"W-what was that Ivan? It seemed really big and scary!"

"That, comrade, is our enemy..."

"E-enemy?"

"Da... Stay close..."

I said no more and quickly enter the buried ruins. Feli followed close behind me and we traveled quietly. Feli tried to make light conversation with me, but my attention was mainly focused on the area around us. I knew we were not in danger yet but could not help the fear that wound up inside of me. Soon, we would be in the belly of the beast.

"Ve, you know, I have a brother. He went on this journey before me. I never saw him again..."

I stopped at hearing such sudden words. My eyes fell upon the young red.

"A brother?"

"Si. He's really snippy and he cusses a lot, but he's actually really nice. Have you met him before? I've been so worried about him, it's kind of why I decided to leave on my journey so soon."

I examined him again and noticed was indeed shorter and seemed quite younger than me. How odd.

"Ah, I am not sure if I have seen such a man. Maybe you shall meet him once we reach our destination..."

He chirped happily at me and continued to chirp that way as we started to walk again. I sighed. His brother. Only two outcomes could have come about. I hope he was not torn apart by those snakes of the air. Hmm, only time will tell. I started to guide the young one once more as we flew, or was it swam, through the cloth algae and jellyfish. Once we reached what seemed to be a long hall of snake columns, I tensed up. Feli was still chirping about excitedly. I hated to kill his fun but we had to become serious. I chirped forcefully and he stopped running in circles.

"Feliciano... Stay close. And what ever you do, do not stray." I started walking.

"Huh? Oh ok! But I don't see what's wrong. I mean sure everything is dark and quiet but there's no danger. Look! There's another one of our friends~!"

Indeed, there was a single cloth dolphin swimming through the air, calling to us. I stopped and watched Feli as he continued forwards. Suddenly, a loud boom sounded as the area shook. Out shot a mechanical snake-like beast with one eye that glowed a white light. It crashed into the poor cloth creature, effectively killing it. I sighed as the monster flew away and turned my eyes to Feli. He was running in circles, chirping loudly with fear.

"Veeee! What was that!? Why did it do that?! Ivan! I'm so scared! Maybe I shouldn't have come on this journey!"

I stood close to him and shared my energy with him, trying to calm him, "That, was our enemy. More like our predator, considering we can do nothing to stop it from attacking us. This is why you must stay close to me. I will protect you."

Feli nodded and got closer to me. I could feel him calming down, "You're really great Ivan! I'm so glad I met you!"

I smile. Someone glad to have met me? Such a wonderful change~ Someone who wants to be around me~ It is... a really nice feeling.

"Come Feliciano. We must keep going forward."

"Ok~!"

We walked quickly. I wanted to get through this part as quickly as possible. I saw one of those monster go by a window and narrowed my eyes. I felt Feli get closer and gave him a reassuring chirp. I stopped in my tracks as I saw one of those snakes sweep by.

"We must stay in the shadows Feliciano. If those beast catch sight of us then there is no chance of escaping."

"V-ve..."

Feli stayed close to me as we traversed the dark grounds. Those snake creatures popped to life from time to time, scaring poor Feliciano. Finally, we reached the last stretch: the slope with those two stupid snakes flying around. Surprisingly, my little friend slipped by me and started to surf down the slope. He seemed to be trying to avoid their lights. I laughed a little and jumped onto the slope. It was pointless to avoid them at this speed, so I just caught the attention of both of them. Feli immediately freaked out and slid over to me.

"Ivan! W-what are you doing?! They're going to eat us!"

I chuckled, "Nyet, my friend. They are incapable of catching us~ We will be safe soon~"

Not at all calmed by my words, Feliciano kept freaking out. Silly boy~ Though I did tell him to stay in the shadows... Hmm, I suppose there are always exceptions.

As the creatures zeroed in on us, the glowing platform that would protect us glowed bright. Once we stepped foot within the platform, a barrier of light formed, pushing the snakes away and protecting us.

"I-Ivan!"

Feliciano ran to me and chirped frantically.

"That was so s-scary! How did you know we would be safe?"

I smile, "Ah, Feli~ This place is a safe haven for us. Nothing can enter or leave this place once it has entered. Now let us go forward."

The Fifth Confluence played before our eyes. Once it ended, we stood and moved forward. Feliciano stood closer to me as we ran.

"What is next? Is it another scary thing, Ivan?"

"Oh nyet. Do not worry it is a beautiful experience next on our journey. You will enjoy it, da~"

We went through the gate and entered an area with a tower in the center that seemed to go up forever. I nudged Feli and moved towards the first glyph. Once we lit the stones, energy rose from the ground, lifting us up.

"Ve~! This is amazing~ It's so pretty!"

Feli spun in circles, full of joy. I chuckled and gently tugged him.

"Come, we must go now and see more of this beauty of this tower."

And so we went. Riding on a clothed whale and searching the large area of the tower. Upwards we went, until we reached the very top. The Final Confluence, so much different from the others, showed itself. It was us. It was our journey so far. All that we have been through shown right before our eyes. And what is to come revealed to us. It ended soon and Feli turned to me.

"Was that... us?"

"Da Feli, that was us and now we are about to embark on our last stretch of this road. It will be rough, but as long as we stay close, we will make it. Let us go."

Feli nodded slowly and followed me. We were soon out of the comfort of the tower and thrown into the harsh snow-covered land. Suddenly, Feil chirped loudly.

"Ah! Our friend!"

Indeed, there was a poor cloth dolphin descending towards the ground at rapid speeds. It hit the ground with a thud. Once we reached it, the poor thing was frozen over. Feli chirped frantically, bring the dolphin back to life. It circled us in thanks and flew as far as it could before sliding into a little cavern. Feli tried to get it to follow us again, but I told him that it was safer there than with us. He made a sad face, but soon followed me again. We walked through the never-ending snow as we were whipped around by wind. We stuck close, sharing each others energy and keeping warm. The snakes were circling the air, waiting to snatch us up and tear us to pieces. As we reached the dangerous path of evading those creatures in the sky, I turned to Feli and quickly redirected him on a safer path where we wouldn't be brutally maimed and where we could also find a glyph.

"Ivan, what would have happened if we went the other way?"

"Well, we could have made it through safely or we could have been attacked by horrible snakes and possibly killed."

"Veh!"

Feli fearfully jumped and wrapped himself around me.

"D-do we really have to go back out there? I don't want to die! I... I don't want to lose you..."

I sadly look at Feliciano and nuzzled his head, "Do not worry, my friend... You won't be losing me anytime soon and I'll always protect you. We're almost there anyways. Once we make it past this, there will be no more true danger. Come."

I started to walk forward and Feli soon joined me. We jumped from our small safe haven and walked towards the first hiding place. We made it inside just in time as the snake's light flew past us. Once the light passed, we moved again. We repeated this pattern and were getting closer to escaping the danger zone, until that one fatal mistake happened. I turned around and saw that Feliciano had fallen other. I rushed to him.

"Quickly Feliciano, get up! We do not have much time! It is circling back!"

I looked up saw the creature coming our way. Soon Feliciano was standing again, but it was too late, there was no time.

**"I'll always protect you."**

My own words echoed in my head and I quickly pushed Feliciano out of the line of sight of the snake's light. Feli looked at me fearfully as the light landed on me, turning red.

"Ivan!"

"Run Feliciano! Go on without me! Make it through and take care of yourself!"

I quickly took off into the air and drew the monster away from Feliciano.

**"I... I don't want to lose you..."**

"... I'm sorry... Feli..."

The snake flew at me at lightning speeds and snatched me by the scarf. It lifted me through the air and ripped half of my scarf from my body. I grunted in pain, not willing to give that mechanical beast the pleasure of seeing me scream in pain. I crashed into the hard snow and laid there for a few seconds before, as quickly as possible, standing back up. My movements were sluggish as I looked through blinding snow for Feliciano. Luckily, I did not see him.

"Good Feli... keep going ahead... Do not come back for me..."

I slowly started to move forward, weakly trudging through the snow. I avoided being seen again and made it out of that area. I released a chirp of relief and walked the twisting path to a field of frozen ribbons. I heard a weak chirp and looked up and what I saw brought joy to my heart.

"Feli... Feliciano...?"

"Ivan!"

I quickly flew up the clothes and saw my dear, little, red friend happily chirping at me, scarf still intact. Feli hugged me and I smiled at him.

"Ivan! Ivan! I was so scared! I thought... I thought...-"

"Shush, my friend, I am here now. No reason to dwell in the past."

Feliciano clung to me as tightly as possible and cried into my chest. I gently petted him with my cloak and let the poor boy cry. After a while, I gently pushed the him away.

"Come Feli, we must go now. This treacherous road is almost over. We're almost there..."

Feliciano nodded and followed once more. We pushed through the snow and increasing wind as we traveled. Our bodies were freezing even more as we traveled. Finally, we reached the begin of the long trudge up the mountain.

"Is... is that it, Ivan?"

"Da... This is where it all ends and something new begins... Whatever happens don't-"

"Don't stop moving and don't stray! I'll stay close to you, si!"

I smile, "You have learned, da~ Let us go~"

So, we began climbing the mountain. The winds whipped and pushed us around as lightning sparked through the sky. The horrible blizzard we were walking through destroyed our scarfs until they no longer existed. All we could do now was walk and chirp weakly at each other. We were practically icesicles as our destination vanished from our sights in the clouds. Our movements slowed and our chirps were nearly nonexistent.

"I-I-Ivan..."

I looked at Feli.

"Are... are we g-going to-"

"Da... We are going to... to die..."

Feli gave me a sad smile, "A-at least... I'll die... with you..."

Then Feli closed his eyes and fell to his knees, "I-Ivan..." he fell into the snow and soon left this mortal world.

I looked at his fallen body. No matter how many times I have gone through this, I never get used to losing a partner. And such a sweet partner he was, and still is. I fell to my knees and smiled.

"Time to meet up on the... other side... da... I'm sure you will enjoy it..."

I fell the rest of the way and felt myself slowly slip away...

...

* * *

Our ancestors... circled Feliciano and I. Our bodies rose into the air and our scarfs reformed.

Feli gasped, "I-Ivan?! What-"

"We are transcending~," I reply happily. We become bright, yellow beings and took on a crouching position. Suddenly, we pushed off the ground and flew through the eye of the spiraling black clouds. The mechanical snakes circled through clouds. As we got closer to the lights, the snakes joined us as we shot through the lights, breaking through the clouds. On the other side of those darkened clouds was a beautiful, bright sky. Mountain peaks were poking through the white clouds and arches of light could be seen in the distance. The snakes transformed into clothed whales and flew away. I looked to my right and saw Feli next to me.

He chirped happily, "Ivan! Where are we!?"

I flew forward, "Our destination~"

Cloth creatures flew about everywhere as we flew through and past them. It was like another world here. An amazing world that only the lucky can see. I looked to Feli again. He was chirping all over the place and twirling through the air. I chuckle and join him in his fun. We flew on never-ending energy as the beautiful sights before us passed before eyes and taking away any pain or worries we experienced on our long journey. Our destination... was amazing. A natural paradise for us all. We ascended the light path to the very top of the mountain. Once we landed, our scarfs disappeared. That was fine though, we didn't need those anymore. I looked to Feliciano and smiled.

"We have made it, Feli~ Did you enjoy yourself~?"

I did not have to hear a response to know the answer as Feli ran in a circle and chirped happily. He soon stopped in front of me and hugged me tightly. I giggled and hugged him back. We stayed like that for a while until he finally released his hold on me.

"Veh~ That was amazing~! How it in the mountains? It's so beautiful~"

"That is just how it is Feli. The exists of our kind carry on here, out of danger, out of the ruined past. Now you shall become apart of it."

"Eh? What about you Ivan?"

"Silly Feli~ I have always been apart of it~ Could you not tell? I did tell you I was a guide, da?"

"Oh, I thought you were just really smart and your white cloak was just a special variation of mine."

I could not help but laugh at my friends denseness, "Ah, my friend, this cloak is much more special then you think~ I have already traveled this journey many a time and I, as white cloak, must guide the young forward so they may also become guides. I thought you knew. I mean you asked about your brother, implying you thought I may have met him on a journey."

"I thought you might have seen him before he completely left for his journey. Ve, I'm so stupid...," Feli frowned then looked up at me, "Wait, does that mean you... you've already died?"

"Da, I have. I am basically a spirit who comes back to the world of the living to help those around or to meet with others similar as me and take our own journey together. We can even turn back into red cloaks if we wish. Nostalgia and what not."

"I'm... going to be like you?"

"Da, are you ready? There is no turning back now."

Feli nodded, "But first let me make you something~"

Feli then ran in the snow and formed a heart in it. I smiled and made my own heart in the snow. We ran in circles and made heart after heart for what seemed like forever. After some time, I stopped, which grabbed Feli's attention.

"We must go forward now. Into the light."

Feli nodded and followed me through the narrowing path. We chirped quietly at each other and got pushed closer and closer together. Just as we enter the never-ending white light, Feli suddenly asked:

"Do you think I'll be as good as a guide as you?"

"Of course, Feli~ After all, we were born for this."

I watched a yellow light incase Feliciano, and watched him shoot into the air and out of the mountain. I smiled and hoped his next journey would be as good as his first, if not better.

* * *

Third person POV

The light traveled through the air, passing all the lands that had to be traversed to reach the mountain from whence it came. As the foreign, yet familiar, star-like being flew, journeyers on the ground watched it go by in wonder. Slowly, it landed on the dune where it began, ready to start a new journey...

* * *

I shall be making little extra chapters, da~ They will be nice~ Also, if you are also fellow journeyers as I then maybe we have, or shall, cross paths. My name on there is KolWolf and I'm always a white cloak~ Maybe we'll see each other~ If we do or have, let's be friends~ ^ ^


End file.
